Pyongyang and PyeongChang ― some foreigners might think these two similarly sounding places may be twin cities or something like that. Actually, a Kenyan official who was going to attend an international biodiversity conference in PyeongChang landed in Pyongyang in September 2014. This happened because a tourist agency mistook the English spellings of the two cities. As he violated the North Korean law by entering the country without a visa, the African delegate paid $500 in fines and was expelled to Beijing. Most of those who are more familiar with international relations would, of course, be able to tell one from the other. The former is the North Korean capital, and the latter is the venue of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea. Some say the Olympics host city has used the capital letter "C" to help foreigners avoid the confusion. At least for the next few months, PyeongChang will likely be on the lips of people more frequently than Pyongyang. It should be so ― for the peace of not just the Korean Peninsula but the rest of the world. War clouds are gathering ― again ― on this divided peninsula after the isolationist regime launched a Hwasong-15 a week ago, calling it the "most powerful ICBM" and breaking more than two months of a hiatus. South Korea and the United States kicked off a massive air force exercise here Monday. It is the largest combined air force drill between the allies, involving more than 230 airplanes and around 12,000 personnel.Even more horrific than this demonstration of sheer military power were the words of U.S. officials. Immediately after the North launched the missile, Nikky Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said: "The dictator of North Korea made a choice yesterday that brings us closer to war, not farther from it." H.R. McMaster, U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, told a defense forum Saturday that he thinks the possibility of war with North Korea is "increasing every day." Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Sunday called for a congressional discussion on the possibility of a pre-emptive attack on North Korea. "We're running out of time," he said. CIA Director Mike Pompeo, widely expected to succeed Rex Tillerson as the new secretary of state, said Saturday: "North Korean leader Kim Jong-un does not have a good idea about how tenuous his situation is domestically and internationally." None other than President Trump was quoted as saying: "It is a situation that we will handle. We will take care of it." By all accounts, these are the remarks that insinuate looming military action rather than tactical rhetoric aimed at taking an advantageous position if they resume dialogue while sending an ultimatum to Beijing and Moscow to call for their swifter and bolder actions. Everyone knows the North has offered the cause with the latest provocation. But few, if any, South Koreans can talk about the possibility of war, even a limited one, as an option. It is doubtful whether the annual air force exercise should be unprecedentedly large in scale. Washington's exasperation is understandable to a degree now that Pyongyang is bragging about its ability to send a nuclear-tipped missile to anywhere on the U.S. mainland. However, South Korea cannot be dragged into the hard-line stance of the U.S. hawks indefinitely. Now is the time for the Moon Jae-in administration to keep its balance between sanctions and dialogue.Most urgent in this regard are Seoul's efforts to make the most of the Winter Olympics to turn things around, or at least gain some time for a cooling off. Last month, the U.N. adopted a symbolic 52-day "Olympic truce," starting seven days before the Winter Games and lasting until seven days after the end of the Paralympics. The Seoul government ought to seriously consider putting off the annual Korea-U.S. joint military drills until after the truce period. Pyongyang may or may not accept the olive branch. However, Kim Jong-un's declaration of the completion of its nuclear armament may be the signal that the reclusive regime is finally ready for resuming negotiations. South Korea is the host country of the global sports festival. It has few other choices but to hold the event successfully and peacefully, inducing the North's participation as Seoul promised in attracting the Winter Games. We all remember how the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul contributed to global peace by holding the first complete Games in 12 years ― which had been reduced to "half Games" in 1980 and 1984 because of the Cold War confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. After three decades, South Korea is playing host to another Olympics as a far more prosperous country economically but as divided, and even more so, than in 1988. President Moon must do all he can to turn the event into an opportunity to emphasize the importance of peace in this part of the world and put a "real" end to the Cold War, not revive it.Moon should propose not just the North's participation but the formation of a unified team in some events and even a partial joint holding of the Games. I don't know if it's still feasible technically, but the South should have offered the holding of the skiing competition on North Korea's Masikryong slopes, of which Kim Jong-un reportedly is very proud. Some will say sports are just sports and politics is politics. Maybe, but Seoul must act like a drowning person clutching at straws. It is running out of time. Choi Sung-jin is a Korea Times columnist. Contact him at choisj1955@naver.com.